Excerpts from the Q & A

DR VIVIAN Balakrishnan tackled a range of topics during the question-and-answer session.

NOT APPROPRIATE

'I don't believe we have made any formal representations because he is not a citizen of our country.

I believe he's a citizen of China. So it would be inappropriate for us as the Singapore Government to have any formal representations on that score.'

ON WHETHER THE GOVERNMENT had made any formal representations to the Chinese government about Straits Times reporter Ching Cheong, who was jailed for five years last August for espionage

REALISTIC VIEW

'Let me say that we're realists. We have seen bloodshed on the streets in Singapore as recently as 1969 in the name of race, language and religion. We look in our neighbourhood and we see decapitations in the name of race, language and religion.

So our assessment, after looking at history and looking around us, is that these are faultlines.'

ON WHY THE GOVERNMENT continues to view race and religion as faultlines in Singapore

NO HIDING ONLINE

'The one thing that hasn't changed in the new media is that ultimately there is still a money trail and identity will always be unmasked.

So don't believe this fiction that there's a whole lot of anonymity out there which people can hide behind.

Any political movement or political leader worth his salt will sooner or later be unmasked and, therefore, can be dealt with or can be engaged on political terms.'

ON WHETHER BLOGGERS can pose a challenge

LET FACTS SPEAK

'On foreign policy, we do not believe in conducting negotiations through the press. So you will notice that the Singapore Government is usually conspicuous by its silence.

We believe in just putting out the facts, the bald facts and letting the facts speak for themselves.'

ON WHETHER SINGAPORE would, like the Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai governments do, use the media to send out messages on foreign policy